Hopper car



1965 c. J. KORANDA 3,167,222

HOPPER CAR Filed May '7, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 i) I k1 7i l F43 I I k Ill- 1\ a v q] ID I4 14 i4 23 fi m IN V EN TOR.

" ATTORNEYS Jan. 26, 1965 c. J. KORANDA 3,167,222

HOPPER CAR Filed May 7, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 24 INVE N'TOR.

ATTORNEYS.

Jan. 26, 1965 c. J. KORANDA 3,167,222

HOPPER CAR 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed NLay 7,

INVENTOR.

jrromvzys.

3,167,222 HGMER CAR Clarence J. Koranrla, Western Springs, 111.,assignor to North American Car Corporation, Chicago, 111., a corporationof Illinois Filed May 7, 1962, Ser. No. 192,710 8 Claims. ((11. 222-512)This invention relates to hopper cars and more particularly to adischarge construction for a hopper car and to a closure therefor.

It has heretofore been proposed to provide discharge structures forhopper car compartments formed with a horizontally extending dischargetube through which dry material in the car can be discharged by air floweither under pressure or induced by vacuum. Several problemsanddisadvantages have resulted from these known structures, one of whichis the difiiculty of removing all of the material from the car anddischarge structure. In transferring plastic pellets or granules, forexample, retention of even as few as one or two pellets may contaminatean entire compartment full of material of a different color orcharacter, and the relatively small pellets or granules are easilyretained in any recesses or sharp angles in the compartment or thedischarge structure.

Another problem is the providing of a closure for the discharge tubewhich seals securely and yet which can be opened easily. Closures asheretofore used are commonly secured in closed position by hand screwswhich are easily damaged in use and which are apt to be jammed byforeign material collecting in their threads. Such closures are usuallyconnected to the car by a chain so that they will not be lost but canhang down when opened and are extremely apt to be damaged by anymovement of the car when in this condition.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a hoppercar having a discharge structure which presents a smooth, continuoussurface with no pockets or sharp angles therein for easy and completeremoval of material in the hopper compartment.

According to a feature of the invention, the discharge structureincludes a trough whose side walls form a smooth continuation of' thelower sloping walls of the hopper compartment and having an arcuatebottom forming 'a continuation of the lower part of the discharge tube.This construction provides a relatively large discharge opening from thehopper compartment and easy, smooth flow of the material from the hoppercompartment through the discharge tube and is easy to clean to removethe last particles of material.

Another object is to provide in a hopper car a closure which ispermanently hinged to the discharge structure to swing between open andclosed positions and which is supported in either position in such a wayas to be protected against damage.

Still another object is to provide a hopper car in which the hingeddischarge closure is securely and uniformly held in its closed positionto seal the discharge opening tightly.

According to a feature of the invention, the closure is engaged by thefree end of a pivoted arm which is re siliently supported on thedischarge structure to press the closure tightly into its sealedposition. The arm may engage a cam wedge surface on the closure todevelop a high sealing force and may be secured against unauthorizedremoval by a sealing strip threaded through openings in the arm and inan eyelet on the closure.

The closure may also be latched closed according to another feature ofthe invention by a rotatable latch member which is turned by the arm andwhich engages the periphery of the closure opposite to its hingemounting.

United States Patent Preferably the rotatable latch member is supportedc0- axially with but independently of the arm so that in the event ofbreakage or other damage to the arm the rotatable latch member willstill hold the closure in its closed position.

Accidental releasing of the rotatable latch member may also be preventedby a latch bar engaging a circumferential latch surface thereon.Preferably, the latch bar is slidable vertically between operable andrelease positions and is made of non-circular section so that it can beturned to prevent accidental sliding in a complementary non-circularsocket.

The above and other objects and features of the invention will be morereadily apparent from the following description when read in connectionwith the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a hopper car embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial section on the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a section on the line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged elevational view of the closure in its closedposition;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are enlarged sections on the lines 5--5 and 66respectively of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a partial section at right angles to FIGS. 5 and 6 showing therotatable latch construction;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged partial elevation on the line 83 of FIG. 7; and

FIG. 9 is a disassembled perspective view of the rotatable latchconstruction.

The invention is illustrated as applied to a conventional hopper carindicated generally at 10 which is supported on trucks 11 for movementover standard railways rails 12. The hopper car is divided by internalwalls indicated by dotted lines 13 into a plurality of compartments,each of which comprises a hopper having inwardly and downwardly slopinglower walls 14. The angle of the walls 14 is so selected that drymaterial in the car will slide freely down them to an enlarged generallyrectangular outlet open-ing 15 as best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3. The walls14 carry an outwardly extending flange 16 surrounding the opening 15 andto which a discharge structure embodying the invention may be mounted.

The discharge structure as shown comprises a horizontal trough 17 havinginwardly and downwardly sloping side walls which form smoothcontinuations of opposite hopper walls 14 merging into an arcuate bottomportion 18 whose axis extends horizontally. The upper edges of thetrough are formed with outwardly extending flanges mating with theflanges 16 and secured thereto by fastenings such as bolts 19 with asuitable sealing gasket therebetween.

The trough 17 is provided with end plates 21 permanently secured theretoas by welding and which are formed with aligned circular openingstherethrough. Horizontally extending discharge tubes 22 are secured inthe openings as by welding and extend horizontally from opposite ends ofthe trough. As best seen in FIG. 3 the radius of curvature of the tubes22 is the same as that of the lower arcuate bottom portion 18 of thetrough so that the bottom surfaces of the tubes form smoothcontinuations of the bottom surfaces of the troughs.

Each of the tubes has secured thereto as by welding a mounting plate 23which projects transversely beyond the outer wall of the tube.Preferably, a short tubular section 24 of larger diameter than the tubes22 is secured to each of the mounting plates and extends outwardtherefrom coaxially with the end portions of the tubes 22 as shown. Thetubes 22 may be of a size to receive a conventional 5" dischargecoupling and the tubular sections 24 may be of a size to receive aconventional 6" discharge coupling so that standard discharge couplingsof either size which are commonly encountered in use-of:

the cars may readily be attached-without requiring any special fittingsor modification of the discharge structure. 1 One of-the discharge'tubesmay bei'connectedtoa source of vacuum with the opposite discharge tubeeither remaining closed' or. connected vto azsourceofair under pressure:This type of; unloading operation forms no part of the present inventionand will not lac-described further herein;

The dischargetubes, however, must be sealed during transport of. thecar. to prevent "lossof the compartment contents by removable closureswhich may :be selectively opened to permit the coupling of dischargeconduits thereto. For this purposea cup shaped closure or cover member25 is provided .of a size; to fit over theextending end po'rtionsoftheconduits22 and24 andxto seal against the supporting plate 23. As bestseen in FIG.. 55 the cover 25 is formed with an:outwardlytextendingl rimflange 26 carrying a resilient sealingring 27' formed or rubber or thelike tov press sealingly against the face of the mounting plate 23. p II i The .cover' is 'supported'by.avertical hinge at one side-of thedischarge pipe for swinging movement in a" horizontal plane between: itsopen and-"closed positions. As shown, the hinge isformed by lugs 28extending out-f wardly from the mounting plate 23 at: vertically'spacedpoints and having: elongated slots-29 formed'the'reinwith the length ofthe slots being normal to the mounting plate. Similar rlugs 31.securedto the cover are formed with openings registering.with'the'openings in the lugs.

28, and a pintle. suchas an elongated bolt 32v is passed through theopenings. With this construction thefcove'r can be'swungto its closedpositionas shown inl-FIGQS and in that position can float slightly.toenable uniform;

sealing pressure to be applied around the entire periphery of thesealing ring 27 to seal the cover securely. When the cover is opened itcan 'be swung horizontally toone side of the discharge tube'and will beheld by. the huge in that. position where it is extremely unlikely tobev damaged.

I For holding the cover in its closed position a J-shaped. arm33 isprovided having its long end extending slidably' and rotatably throughthe mounting plat'e23 and urged terminating in an arcuateedge' andformed with a pcripheral'notch 43. Thelatch member iscut away oppositethe portion 42 to a diameter which will clear the flange'26- of theclosure. When the ,latch member is turned counterclockwise totheposition shown in FIG. 8,

the portion 42 will ride over the adjacent part of the flange 26 andwillhold it securely in its sealed position. It will be understood that theunder surface of the portion 42 may be taperedto produce a wedgingeifectas the latch member is turned. a V I The latch member is rotatablysupported on a tubular pin 44 which'is secured in a bushing "45zwhich isinturn secured to the mounting. plate 23'. The latch member 41 -isrotatably supported on the tubular 'pin- 44 and engages the end :of thebushing '45 to be held' thereby spaced out- "wardly from the. mountingplate 23 the. proper'dist'ance to overlie and engage the flange 26 ofthe cover; The

. tubular pin 44 terminates in anendflange 46 which overlies the latchmember 41 tohold it against 'axialmovd ment and which is formed with aninwardly extending ear 47 extending toward the mounting plateto 'lirnitrotation of thelatch member'41. j helockingarm 33 extends slidably androtatably through the tubular pin 44 with the spring 34 abutting againsta flangeon the bushing asseen inHFIG. 5. Further, the locking arm 33carries an outwardlyiand axially projecting lug .48 which extends intothenotch 43 as seen in FIG. 'i solthat when "the locking arm-33 isturned the latchmember' 41' will be turned with it. It

will-be noted, however, thatin the event the locking arm 33shouldxbecome' broken or totally disconnected from by a spring 34 towardthe center ofthe'trough; Prefer ably the spring abuts against anadjustingplate 35. held' in adjusted position by a nut 36' threaded ontothe' end. of the arm by. means of which the spring pressure can beadjusted. vThe opposite end of thearmjs adapted to swing overthe centralpart of the coverwhen it is in itsclosed position to urge the coveryieldingly against the mounting plate 23 and into sealing engagementthere-" with. For this purpose the outer surface of the cover" I ispreferably offset to define a cam wedge surface 3'7 along which the endof the arm. 33 will ride when the arm is moved toward its lockingposition. .The. cam

wedge surfaceis preferably provided 'wtili a detentnotchj 38 in thecenter of the cover which will receive/the end of the arm andv hold ityieldingly against accidental removal.

When the arm is swung to its locking position as shown in FIGS. 4 to 6,its end will rest in the detent notch 33 and the pressure produced bythe spring34 will press the cover tightly and resiliently intosealing'engagement with the mounting plate securely to seal thedischarge tube. It, will be seen that considerable sealing pressure canbe developed because of the cam wedge surface 37,

itbeing necessary in some. cases to force the arm into its lockingposition by pounding it withga hammer or the like. Similarly, whereextremely. high sealing pressures are involved,'it may be necessary tohammer the end of.

the arm out of the detent notch 38 to release it. p

The .coverisfurther latched in closed position by a rotatablelatclimember 41 mounted for rotation on the mounting plate coaxiallywith the arm 33.!As best seen in FIG. 8, the latch member 41 has alatching portion 42 the assembly, the latch member. 41 will continue tohold the cover in closed position at the sideithereof opposite tothefhingeso thatthe contents of .thecompartment will not be lost; 1 I YI aAs a further: safety. measure the rotatable latch member 41 is itselflatched against accidental rotation. For

this purpose a tubular socket 49 having a non-circular rectangularopening therethrough is secured tothe mountving plate 23. aboveandslightlyto one side of the latch" structure mounting as'seen .best'in1 1G858 and 9. .A vertically slidalble latch pin is slidable through thesocket "and'is formed with an upper. rectangular portion 5-1complementary to the rectangularopening in the socket and with a lowercircular portion 52. Preferably, a stop bar 53 is.=welded to the lowerend of the circular portion 52 to prevent the latch bar, from beingpulled vertically through the socket and completely removed therefrom.At its upper end.the latch bar is formedwith an angularly extendingfinger piece 54 by which it may be operated. Y

Withithe'rot atable latch member 41 in 'latchingpov sition as shown inFIG. 8 theIatchbarmay be turned to the position shown in" FIGS. SI-and'9 so that it can ing clockwise out of vits latching positioni' This isthe drop down to the illustrated position. In this position the pin '52registers witha circumferential latching shoulder 55 onthe latch member41 to'prevent it from turnnormalposition of the parts during transportof the car. When it is desiredto open the closure for unloading the car,the 'latch'bar may be raised until the circular portion 52 thereof lies;in the opening in the socket 49' the. cover and, at thesame time,. willmove the-latch member 41 toits'released position. At this time the coveris free to b fswu'ngto its open' position and the unloading operationmay proceed in the desired manner.

:It will be noted that withthe construction of the presentinvention thelower tapering side walls of the hopper compartment blend smoothly; intothe discharge trough is c) which in turn blends smoothiy into thedischarge tube so that there are no pockets or sharp angles in whichmaterial can collect and be retained. The car will therefore becompletely emptied, and after emptying the discharge structure mayeasily be inspected visually and further swept out manually if necessaryto insure that none of the material remains in it. Furthermore, thehopper compartment is securely sealed during operation and is securedagainst any accidental opening. This may be further insured by formingthe free end of the locking arm 33 with an opening 56 therethrough. Thecover may be formed with an eyelet 57 adjacent to its central positionand a standard railway sealing strip as indicated in dotted lines at 58may be threaded through the eyelet and the opening 56 to seal thelocking arm against movement and to seal the car against unauthorizedaccess.

While one embodiment of the invention has been shown and described indetail, it will be understood that this is illustrative only and is notto be taken as a definition of the scope of the invention, referencebeing had for this purpose to the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination with a tubular discharge member having a dischargeopening, a closure for the opening hinged at one side thereof forswinging from a closed position overlying the opening to an openposition swung away from the opening, an arm pivotally mounted at oneend at one side of the opening with its other end free to swing and withits free end movable centrally over the closure when it is in its closedposition to engage the closure and hold it closed, and a rotatable latchmember rotatably mounted at the side of the opening remote from thehinged connection of the closure thereto and connected to the arm to beturned thereby into latching engagement with the closure when the arm ismoved over the closure.

2. In combination with a tubular discharge member having a dischargeopening, a closure for the opening hinged at one side thereof forswinging from a closed position overlying the opening to an openposition swung away from the opening, an arm pivotally mounted at oneend at one side of the opening with its other end free to swing and withits free end movable over the closure when it is in its closed positionto engage and hold it closed, a rotatable latch member connected to thearm to be turned thereby into latching engagement with the closure atthe side thereof opposite to the hinged side thereof when the arm ismoved over the closure, the latch member being formed with a peripherallatching surface, and a manually operable latching lug engageable withthe latching surface to latch the arm and latch member against turning.

3. The construction of claim 2 in which the outer face of the closure isformed with a cam wedge surface engageable with the free end of the armto cam the closure toward its closed position.

4. For use with a hopper car comprising a compartment tapering inwardlyand downwardly at its opposite sides to an elongated rectangulardischarge opening and a trough member secured to the compartment underthe opening having inwardly and downwardly tapering sides definingsmooth continuations of the opposite sides of the compartment andmerging into an arcuate section bottom, a circular discharge tube at atleast one end of the trough whose bottom portion forms an elongation ofthe bottom portion of the trough, a cover for the discharge tube hingedto the tube at one side thereof for swinging from an open positionbeside the tube to a closed position overlying the end of the tube, anarm pivoted at one end on an axis parallel to and at one side of thetube with its other end free for swinging centrally over the outer faceof the cover when the cover is in its closed position, a cam surface onthe outer face of the cover engageable with the free end of the arm, aspring acting on the arm urging its free end toward the discharge tubethereby to press the cover resiliently toward its closed position, and arotatable latch member connected to the arm to be turned thereby intolatching engagement with the cover when the arm is moved over the coverfor engagement with the cam surface.

5. In combination with a discharge tube having a discharge opening, aplate secured to the tube adjacent to its free end and projectinglaterally beyond the tube, a cover hinged on vertical axis to the plateat one side of the tube to swing from an open position beside the tubeto a closed position overlying the end of the tube, a latching armpivoted at one end in the plate at the other side of the tube and havingits other end ofiset to overlie the outer face of the cover when it isin its closed position and a rotatable latch member mounted coaxiallywith the arm and connected thereto to be rotated thereby into latchingengagement with the periphery of the cover when the arm is turned tolatching position with its free end overlying the cover.

6. The construction of claim 5 in which the rotatable latch member ismounted on the plate by a tubular shaft through which the arm extendsslidably and rotatably whereby breakage or removal of the arm will notaffect the rotatable latch member.

7. In combination with a discharge tube having a discharge opening, aplate secured to the tube adjacent to its free end and projectinglaterally beyond the tube, a cover hinged on a vertical axis to theplate at one side of the tube to swing from an open position beside thetube to a closed position overlying the end of the tube, a latching armpivoted in the plate at the other side of the tube and having its freeend oiiset to overlie the outer face of the cover when it is in itsclosed position, a rotatable latch member mounted coaxially with the armand connected thereto to be rotated thereby into latching engagementwith the periphery of the cover when the arm is turned to latchinposition with its free end overlying the cover, the latch member beingcut away through a portion of its periphery to leave a circumferentiallatching surface, and a manually operable latching bar engageable withsaid latching surface to hold the latch member against turning out oflatching engagement with the cover.

8. The construction of claim 7 in which the latching bar includes anon-circular shank portion slidable vertically downward through a socketof complementary section to its latching position, the latching barbeing turnable when it is raised to its inoperative position with saidshank portion above the socket to engage the top of the socket and holdthe latching bar against downward movement.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS891,887 Wallace June so, 1903 1,199,865 Brewer Oct. 3, 1916 2,157,693Ernolf May 9, 1939 2,323,458 Dunn July 6, 1943 2,650,726 Ailer et al.Sept. 1, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,102,953 France Oct. 27, 1955

4. FOR USE WITH A HOPPER CAR COMPRISING A COMPARTMENT TAPERING INWARDLYAND DOWNWARDLY AT ITS OPPOSITE SIDES TO AN ELONGATED RECTANGULARDISCHARGE OPENING AND A TROUGH MEMBER SECURED TO THE COMPARTMENT UNDERTHE OPENING HAVING INWARDLY AND DOWNWARDLY TAPERING SIDES DEFININGSMOOTH CONTINUATIONS OF THE OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE COMPARTMENT ANDMERGING INTO AN ARCUATE SECTION BOTTOM, A CIRCULAR DISCHARGE TUBE AT ATLEAST ONE END OF THE TROUGH WHOSE BOTTOM PORTION FORMS AN ELONGATION OFTHE BOTTOM PORTION OF THE TROUGH, A COVER FOR THE DISCHARGE TUBE HINGEDTO THE TUBE AT ONE SIDE THEREOF FOR SWINGING FROM AN OPEN POSITIONBESIDE THE TUBE TO A CLOSED POSITION OVERLYING THE END OF THE TUBE, ANARM PIVOTED AT ONE END ON AN AXIS PARALLEL TO AND AT ONE SIDE OF THETUBE WITH ITS OTHER END FREE FOR SWINGING CENTRALLY OVER THE OUTER FACEOF THE COVER WHEN THE COVER IS IN ITS CLOSED POSITION, A CAM SURFACE ONTHE OUTER FACE OF THE COVER ENGAGEABLE WITH THE FREE END OF THE ARM, ASPRING ACTING ON THE ARM URGING ITS FREE END TOWARD THE DISCHARGE TUBETHEREBY TO PRESS THE COVER RESILIENTLY TOWARD ITS CLOSED POSITION, AND AROTATABLE LATCH MEMBER CONNECTED TO THE ARM TO BE TURNED THEREBY INTOLATCHIONG ENGAGEMENT WITH THE COVER WHEN THE ARM IS MOVED OVER THE COVERFOR ENGAGEMENT WITH THE CAM SURFACE.